Don't sweat burnt edges of cookies or crusts. Use a potato peeler to shave off the burnt parts.

Whole cake not look as pretty as you hoped? Slice and plate it in the kitchen, add some berries to the plate and bring it out to you guests -- they need never see the whole cake.

When whipping cream or mixer batter in a stand mixer, wrap plastic wrap all around the top of the mixer and mixing bowl so all of the contents stay inside. Your mixer "raincoat" will keep your counter, cabinets and hair cream and batter-free.

I make so many chocolate desserts and teach a class in chocolate pastries every February.  Here is an easy way to melt chocolate in the microwave:

To melt chocolate in the microwave, first chop the chocolate into 1 inch pieces and place in a glass bowl.  Heat for 1 minute and then stir well with a silicone spatula.  Heat again for 45 seconds and mix again, making sure to mix the melted part from the bottom into the unmelted pieces.  Heat 30 seconds more and mix.  If the chocolate is almost all melted, keep mixing until the remaining pieces melt.  If there is still a lot unmelted, heat for another 15 seconds and it will be done.  DO  NOT EVER HEAT THE CHOCOLATE FOR OVER 1 MINUTE AT A TIME -- THE CHOCOLATE CAN BURN.  Make sure you have an oven mitt handy to remove the bowl from the microwave each time you need to stir it.

Tired of getting hit in the face with whipped cream or cake batter as your stand mixer does its job?  Wrap plastic wrap all around the mixing bowl and up to the top of the mixer and all the way around the back so none of the bowl contents can escape.  Think of it as a "raincoat" for your mixer.